


The Vala Chronicles

by Lyl



Category: Magnificent Seven (TV), Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Community: crossovers100, Crossover, Gen, Kidnapping, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-21
Updated: 2010-07-21
Packaged: 2017-10-10 17:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/102115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyl/pseuds/Lyl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vala had a life before Earth and the SGC. She had a life before being taken as a host. That life has just come back to bite her in the butt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't like she *planned* to get taken prisoner.

Vala didn't know why Cam kept shooting her those looks. It wasn't like she planned to get taken prisoner. She hadn't even had time to do anything on this planet before a series of big and burly guards surrounded them and stripped them of their weapons.

And any comments she might have made about a strip search – well, what did they expect in these kinds of situations.

Practicing her bored and disinterested look – perfected years before unleashing it on General Landry during briefings or Cam during all the other times – Vala swept a practiced eye around the room, looking for any way to escape.

It was what she was good at, after all.

Though it was taking a lot to keep that look on her face. Twenty minutes ago a stranger all in black – and wasn't that a cliché – had come to look in on them. He hadn't said anything, but once he'd seen her, the wicked smile to cross his face started her pulse pounding.

That's when she started to worry, because if that had been who she thought it was, then she was in trouble. More trouble than anyone at Stargate Command could possibly imagine.

The sound of the door unbolting grabbed her attention, and she felt the adrenaline starting to pump through her veins even as she cursed the thorough guards who had found all her weapons.

Almost as if they knew where she kept them all. Yet another bad sign.

Two figures stepped into the room where her and her team were being kept, though it was only the second one that held any kind of interest for her.

He was as familiar to her as her own body, from the dark hair and the eye-catching green jacket (to match his eyes, of course) to the shiny black boots and gold tooth that flashed when he smiled.

The blaster strapped to his thigh was new, though.

“Vala! You duplicitous, thieving she-devil,” he greeted her with a smile, the accent causing goosebumps as it always had.

“Ezra. I see you managed to escape execution. Again,” she replied, her tone as fake as her smile. This situation was getting worse by the second, and she could just imagine the thought going through her team's heads as they watched this little reunion. She'd worked hard to earn their trust and friendship, and didn't need more of her past coming back to haunt her.

“Is that any way to greet your husband?” he chided, his smile turning wolfish even as she stiffened.

Oh, yes. Very bad, indeed.

END


	2. And The World Is Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hadn't realized he would be this affected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt – 011: Red

“Ezra, we've got a problem.”

Those words coming from Chris Larabee were never a good thing.

Ezra looked up from under the navigational console, wondering what the crisis was this time.

“How big a problem?” he asked, connecting the last few wires before getting up. As much as he hated to do such menial tasks, when it came to his ship only JD was allowed to touch the wiring.

“Some people came through the Gate. They've been detained, but one of the Solarans thought they looked familiar and sent for me,” said Chris, watching him closely. “It's SG-1.”

If Ezra was the cursing type, he would be lighting the air with foul speech instead of grimacing in acknowledgement of the enormous problem they now had to deal with.

“How bad has this location been compromised?” he asked.

“Not sure – you know the Tau'ri rarely have an agenda when 'exploring',” said Chris, repeating Ezra's own words back to him. Ezra gathered information like Buck gathered girlfriends, and one of his first tasks had been to learn everything he could about anyone they would potentially run into.

“We should still leave this planet,” said Ezra, nodding in agreement. It was unfortunate because they'd only just settled on the planet a few months earlier.

“Already in the works,” said Chris, adding “but that's not the biggest problem.”

Ezra watched him in concern. Chris rarely had trouble divulging difficult information, no matter the subject.

“Vala's with them.”

Ezra's vision filled with red as memories and emotions burst forth, staggering him with their potency. He hadn't realized he would be this affected – had, in fact, thought he was past the bulk of his anger at the woman he had convinced himself he loved.

Closing his eyes, Ezra took several deep breaths before looking at Chris again.

The other man simply gazed at him steadily, seemingly trying to send him a message with his eyes alone.

Then it hit Ezra.

“We're taking them with us,” he said, realizing it was the only obvious course of action. They couldn't trust that SG-1 wouldn't start shouting their whereabouts to the galaxy at large – they hadn't shown any real tact in the past, and they were beyond the point of trusting anyone other than their own people.

“Vin's waiting in the town for you,” said Chris before turning to leave the ship.

Ezra wanted to curse the man as his black form disappeared from view, but knew he couldn't.

Vala was his personal dragon and must be dealt with by him.

At least he'd have one of their comrades with him when he confronted his past.

He was more grateful than he thought he should be.

END


	3. He Said, She Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They didn't understand this woman they travelled with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt – 088: He

There she was. The one woman in all the galaxy he considered his equal (his mother didn't count), and she was here. After years of searching, he was finally in the same room as her – and not about to be executed.

“Since when do you work with the tau'ri?” he asked, leaning against the wall next to the door. He knew better than to get close enough to her when they were working for different ends.

“Since when do you work for the Seven?” she asked back, sending a pointed glance in Vin's direction.

“I continue to be baffled by how your mind works, Vala,” he commented, keeping his gaze locked on her. “What makes you believe I work for the Seven?”

“Well, if you're not working for them, then-”

Ezra watched the surprise flash across her face, her mouth forming a small 'o' as she looked quickly between Vin and himself.

“You didn't!” she said accusingly, and Ezra just smiled widely, teeth bared.

“Welcome to _my_ world, Vala,” he said, enjoying the moment.

“What the hell is going on!” demanded one of Vala's team.

“Colonel Mitchell, is it?” he asked, transferring his attention to the other occupants of the room. He noted the surprise on the other man's face, and had to smile mockingly at the arrogance of the tau'ri. “Oh, yes. We know precisely who you are, Colonel. SG-1 are quite well known throughout the galaxy.”

That didn't seem to sit to well with the other members of the team, some of them sending accusing looks Vala's direction.

Interesting, Ezra thought. They trusted her on their team, but still didn't trust her intentions or that she wouldn't sell them out at the first hint of money. They didn't understand this woman they travelled with.

Ezra knew full well that despite her past and what she may say, once Vala gave you her loyalty, it stuck.

“I'm sorry, but who are these 'Seven'?” asked the one Ezra identified as Daniel Jackson.

“A group of mercenaries hunted by the Goa'uld, who came together and formed a type of resistance,” explained Vala.

“Seven of us, to be exact,” Ezra explained, though that was all he was willing to give them. He refused to explain how they all met in one of Ba'al's prison camps, trusting each other just enough to escape to a safe planet that had no Stargate, therefore no Goa'uld presence.

He kept to himself that those six men had become closer than family, and he found he couldn't leave them behind to run and hide for the rest of his life. Vala had abandoned him before Chris Larabee had gained his trust and loyalty, the only man ever able to convince Ezra to stay and fight the fake gods, rather than save his own skin.

“Like the Lucian Alliance?” asked the other female, a Colonel Carter. She was more curious and intrigued than her counterpart, calm and careful where Mitchell was brash and open.

The few guards in the room with them bristled at the comparison. They were from one of the worlds they had attacked in the early days, swearing their lives to those who had liberated them from slavery. The Solarans were a warrior race who considered it an honour and a life debt to serve and protect the Seven and those they themselves protected.

“We are nothing like them. Petty thieves and thugs,” Ezra spat.

“Ezra,” called out Vala in a voice he hadn't heard in years. Apparently, it still had some effect on him, forcing him to hide the way it made his insides shudder in delight. “Are you sure we can't come to some arrangement?” she asked sweetly, her body shifting in minute but obvious ways, offering the one thing she was confident he would actually take.

“If only it were that simple, my dear,” he told her, looking at her curiously. For her to go to these extremes to protect these people, she must truly love them.

“We're ready, Ez,” said a voice, causing him to turn to Vin who had remained silent the entire time.

“Excellent. We should leave immediately.”

“You're letting us go?” asked Mitchell in surprise, though the look on the Jaffa's face said he was not so easily convinced.

“No,” said Ezra as the guards moved to gather up the five prisoners. “By coming here you have potentially exposed us to any number of enemies, the Ori among them.”

“You'll be our guests until it is deemed safe to allow you to return.”

“Ezra, is this really necessary?” asked Vala as they were moved down the hall to the transport rings. “Can't we make some sort of compromise?”

“We won't say a word about you or where you can be found,” added Carter.

“Unfortunately, the Tau'ri are not among those we trust. Especially those travelling with my darling wife,” said Ezra.

“Ezra, really, I think if you just listen and think abo-”

“Any leverage you had disappeared when you abandoned me to be captured by Ba'al's guards,” said Ezra, feeling his insides growing cold with remembered betrayal. He hadn't thought her capable of it, not until he'd turned around on that Goa'uld mothership to find her gone, the alarms blaring and later, a deathglider missing.

“Take them to the ship and stay with them until we're ready to transport down again,” said Ezra, motioning with his head for SG-1 to be transported in the rings first.

Once they were gone, he turned to Vin, sharing a knowing look for a moment. Vin was one of the few who understood exactly how difficult the encounter had been for him.

“Shall we depart?” he asked with fake enthusiasm, stepping into the rings.

Activating the rings, Ezra prepared himself for a long journey in the company of the last person he ever wanted to see again.

END


	4. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> None of them understood just how hard this was for her.

"What in the blazes of hell did you do to that man?!"

Vala was impressed that Cameron had managed to keep silent long enough for them to be alone. She'd been half sure he would have started interrogating her before they hit the medical bay.

Then again, having a tracker implanted had possibly sent him into a rage beyond words, and he'd only just calmed down enough to speak coherently. Possibly.

"There's no need to yell, Cameron," said Vala, making an effort to sound affronted.

"I think what he's trying to say, is what happened between the two of you that led to _tagging_ us!?" demanded Daniel, hand still on his bandaged arm.

"You're just upset they found _your_ little transmitter so fast."

"Vala, what's the story." Sam sounded angry but resigned, most likely thinking this was another of Vala's games. None of them understood just how hard this was for her, admitting to one of her biggest mistakes.

"Well, I was running this sweet little deal on Palmeron, six - no seven - years ago when in walks this man - young, naive and rich. He was the perfect-"

"Vala!" barked Cameron, glowering at her. "Skip the back story."

"Fine!" she pouted, crossing her arms. They never wanted to hear the lead up, only the ending. "Our cover was blown and I had to leave or risk being captured."

"Wait, 'cover'? Just what were you doing?" asked Cameron.

"_You_ didn't want the back story, remember?" she asked pointedly.

"Ok, Vala. Why don't you start from the beginning."

"Well, as I was saying, this man was the perfect mark; inexperienced, swimming in money and completely trusting," she said, reminiscing about the high she had upon first meeting him.

"We get it - you took him for a fortune, blah blah blah. Get to the part with your 'husband'," said Cam, waving impatiently with his hand.

"That's just it - it _was_ him." she told them, still impressed to this day.

"He's a con artist," said Daniel in realization, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"One of the best I ever met," she said, knowing there was a little smile on her face. Despite everything between them, that first con between them was a good memory. Even though it had cost her. "I lost a small fortune to him."

"And you decided to _marry_ him?" Cameron asked incredulously. They were all staring at her now, and it was one of the few times she didn't want to be the center of attention.

"It was part of the con," she defended. "We were both playing a role, only he played it better."

"You got played?" Cameron - again with the incredulousness.

She was offended, defending herself, "It happens!"

"Not often," supplied Sam with a wince.

"Anyway," continued Vala, deliberately ignoring the somewhat-compliment. "I had something in the works that required another person, so I offered to cut him in on the deal. By the time it was over, we...decided....to become partners." And wasn't _that_ the understatement of the decade.

"Until you left him behind," accused Cameron, pointing a finger far too close to her face for her liking. She was starting to think Cameron was taking Ezra's side in this, which was totally not fair. He was _her_ team mate. Cameron should be _defending_ her honour, not besmirching it.

Wow. She really should stop reading those romance novels of Sam's.

"Have you ever been in one of Ba'al's prisons? They're not very nice!"

"So you just left him there? Your so-called 'husband'?" Cameron was really getting very worked up about this whole thing. He hadn't even been there, so he shouldn't be telling her what she should have done. She did enough of that herself.

"What do you mean 'so-called husband'? I'll have you know that marriage was valid in seven different systems," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. "And anyway, by the time I recovered enough to potentially go and find him, it was too late. He'd been moved to any number of planets or ships."

"'Recovered'?" asked Daniel, finally taking part in the conversation.

"I got hit with a staff blast. I nearly died," she said quietly before turning to face the ceiling where she was fairly confident the surveillance was placed.

"You hear that, Ezra?!" she shouted up at it, glaring for all she was worth. "I was on the verge of death for three weeks!"

~!~

On the far side of the ship, Ezra watched his 'wife' explain their complicated history to her team. He had to give her credit, though, she still knew how to tell people stories close enough to the truth to be believable, while still keeping the real events hidden. He'd always admired her for that.

_"You hear that, Ezra? I was on the verge of death for three weeks!"_

He tried to tell himself he didn't care, but a tightness in his chest belied it for the lie it was.

A strong hand settled on his shoulder and squeezed.

Vin Tanner's quiet presence had always given Ezra strength, and this time was no different. "We got you, Ez."

Ezra was so very glad of that, too.

END


	5. Dinnertime Recon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn't look dangerous, but then, neither did Sam or Daniel and they'd brought entire races to their knees.

Cam watched the guards carefully, taking special note of anything that could be used to their advantage. So far, he'd come up with nothing. Big and burly seemed to cover the majority of them, and he didn't give his team good odds of taking them out then taking the ship.

Not that it was the plan – well, not plan A. Maybe plan F.

He'd had a quick chat with the various members of his team and they'd all come to the same conclusion – if these people were fighting the Ori, then they would make good allies for Earth.

Well, everyone except Vala. She seemed to have a blind spot the size of a mothership when it came to her loving husband, who just happened to be one of their captors.

So they were biding their time, collecting intel on the situation in case they actually managed to break themselves out, while giving Jackson the opportunity to work his magic on the people in charge.

But right now they were on their way to dinner, which took priority over everything else as far as Cam was concerned. They’d been given rooms instead of cells, and there was no room service to speak of or decent locks on the doors, but Cam didn’t fool himself into believing they weren’t prisoners.

The polite escorts back to their rooms after several unsuccessful escape attempts just tipped the balance in favour of ‘prisoner’. It hadn’t helped that they were being prodded along the hallways like slow herd animals.

“Food's over there. Help yourself,” called out a voice as they entered what Cam assumed was their equivalent of a mess hall. Looking around, Cam spotted a side table full of strange and exotic fare.

He beat Sam to the table, but only by a hair. Apparently she'd come to the same conclusion he'd reached: if they wanted to kill them, poisoning their food wasn't the way they'd do it.

Turning with his plate full of food, Cam noticed that unlike most mess halls, this one only had one table, and it was already occupied. The man was the same person who'd accompanied Vala's erstwhile husband earlier, and who Vala had labelled as one of these mysterious 'Seven'.

According to Vala, he was Vin Tanner, a bounty hunter of some renown. He didn't look dangerous, but then, neither did Sam or Daniel and they'd brought entire _races_ to their knees.

“So, Tanner, right?” asked Cam as he sat down across the table. He felt Sam taking a seat next to him, along with the rest of SG-1. Cam had to give the guy props, because he sure didn't look nervous or intimidated being outnumbered by his prisoners, and Cam didn't think it had anything to do with the big 'n burlies stationed around the room.

“So, Mitchell, right?” replied Tanner with the exact same inflection.

Cam bit down a smile because he was positive he saw a hint of amusement in the other man's eyes.

“You gonna tell us where we're going?” Cam asked as he dug into his food. Dinner time small talk was not his forte, but he could wing it given the chance. He hoped.

“Nope,” said Tanner, all lazy drawl and laidback amusement.

“You gonna tell us how long until we get wherever it is we're going?”

“Nope.”

“You gonna at least tell us what you plan to do with us when we get wherever it is we're going?”

“Nope.”

“You gonna tell us anything?”

“Probably not,” answered Tanner, and Cam had to refrain from pulling his hair in frustration.

“Why not?” he asked, annoyed.

“Don't trust that one,” pointing to Carter, “not to try and figure out where any of our bases are.”

“Bases – plural. So you have more than one.” Thank you, Jackson, for finally joining in this little hoe down.

Tanner just gave him a look like he was the slow child in the class, which just set Daniel to frowning in consternation.

“You think I can figure out what planet you're taking us to, just by how long it will take to get there?” asked Sam. She tried to sound disbelieving and incredulous, but Cam had seen her play poker – she couldn't bluff.

“Given the maximum speed of this ship and the length of our journey, then yes. We do,” another voice broke in, this one belonging to the first of the Seven they'd encountered, but hadn't realized it. Chris Larabee, the leader of the group, stood just inside the door to the mess hall. He was dressed all in black – the fashion choice of the galaxy's thieves and pirates. Cam couldn’t see any sign of a weapon on him, but didn't for one minute believe that the man was defenseless _or_ weaponless.

Carter seemed ready to argue, but the guilty flush on her cheeks told Cam that Larabee and Tanner had been correct in their assumptions.

“Are you not concerned that that will occur regardless of whether you inform us or not?” inquired Teal'c, speaking for the first time. As usual the Jaffa left Cam to do all the talking, which while he appreciated the confidence Teal’c had in him, a little backup would be nice.

Larabee smirked in response before grabbing his own plate of food.

“Nobody said we were going in a straight line, or at a constant rate of speed,” said Larabee as he sat down across from SG-1. He was essentially sitting next to Tanner, but the space between them was more than polite personal space. To anyone else it would look like two people who didn't want to sit next to each other, but to a soldier, it spoke of warriors leaving enough space in case battle erupted mid-meal. Too crowded and you ended up fighting your fellow soldiers; too far away, and you might as well be in another room.

It was obvious to Cam that these two had spent a lot of time fighting together, and he had a feeling that it wasn't just Tanner and Larabee, that this extended to all seven men. There was a bond of trust and friendship there that could only be forged in the heat of battle...and now he was starting to sound like Teal'c.

Didn't mean he wasn't wrong.

“What do you plan to do with us?” asked Daniel, watching the interplay between Tanner and Larabee. Cam didn't doubt that Daniel had picked up a lot of the subtler cues, but wondered if he fully understood what they meant. Probably.

“That is the question, Dr Jackson,” said Larabee. Cam didn’t like being the one in the room with the least amount of information, but couldn’t figure out a way to fix that without being obvious. Vala had given them a brief rundown on members of the Seven that she knew –but it still left Cam struggling for information. These men had apparently been doing a better job with secret identities than SG-1 had ever done, because while most of the galaxy knew him and his team, very few knew even one of the Seven by name. Sure, there was speculation and the odd snake oil salesman who would sell you a name that had a fifty-fifty chance of being a real person, but very few people could actually lay claim to actually _knowing_ one of the Seven.

It didn’t bode well for the SGC’s intelligence division, seeing as these guys had been roaming and fighting for at least four years, yet no one back at Command had ever heard of them.

“Will Ezra be joining us?” risked Daniel, casting a quick glance at Vala as he asked.

“Ez don't let anybody fly his baby unless he's sedated in the infirmary,” said Tanner. That was something any pilot could understand.

The meal descended into uncomfortable silence after that, as if everyone was aware that SG-1's heads could be on the chopping block once they reached their destination.

“This is an interesting ship design,” piped up Sam, breaking the silence. “Where’d you get it from?”

Trust Sam to be fascinated by new forms of alien tech.

“Didn't find it anywhere,” said Larabee, sounding pleased. “Built it ourselves.”

“Really?” Sam sounded extra specially fascinated now, and Cam had a feeling he'd have to pry her out of this ship when it came time to leave. “I didn't think there were a lot of ship building facilities that weren't controlled by the Goa'uld.”

“You built your 302's underground,” Larabee reminded her, “seemed like a good way to keep it hidden, so that's what we did.”

Cam really wondered how they got their intel, because that was _not_ common knowledge.

“Did you design it, too?” she asked cautiously, and Cam really hoped she was very careful in her wording from then on, because he could see where she was going. Telling an engineer his design sucked balls was not the way to get on his good side.

From what they’d seen as they’d been escorted to the mess hall, Cam had decided that his first impression that the ship's layout was insane was accurate. It was completely and totally nuts. Hatches that weren't actually hatches (escape attempt #5), panels that opened to nothing inside (escape attempt #1-4), corridors that led to dead ends (#6a) or twisted around so bad a person got hopelessly turned around inside a minute (#6b, and Cam wasn’t letting Daniel live that one down any time soon). And nothing was labelled, either.

“Some of the boys did,” confessed Larabee. “Turned out pretty good, all things considered.”

Tanner seemed to find his food extra fascinating, though his shoulders were shaking and the noises coming from him sounded suspiciously like muffled laughter.

“And you can just shut up,” snapped Larabee, barely glancing at Tanner but Cam could hear the underlying affection in the tone.

“I wasn't the one who got lost, cowboy,” said Tanner, finally looking up. His face was red and his smile was wide, and he was trying his best not to laugh in his friend's face.

“I didn't get lost! I got – turned around,” he corrected, all wounded dignity.

“Fourteen times?” teased Tanner, and Cam had to hold back his own smile. “The only reason it wasn't more is cause Ez gave you that damn map.”

“Ezra had money riding on fourteen – any more and he would have lost the bet,” explained Chris. Cam got the feeling that this was a long running argument.

“Still, 'fourteen', Larabee. Even Buck only managed eight before breaking down and asking for a map,” chided Tanner. Cam filed the name 'Buck' away for future reference, because Vala hadn't mentioned anyone by that name in her brief introduction to the Seven.

“So, the design was deliberate?” Sam asked slowly, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“This ship is what happens when you give a paranoid con man and an imaginative tech genius free reign,” said Larabee, and Cam finally caught on. This ship was a brilliant anti-theft device in and of itself. Anyone trying to steal or board her, or even escape her, would most likely get lost along the way. The ship was one giant maze, and only the crew knew how to get around.

He would bet even odds that there were a bucket load of secret passages and other sneaky things all throughout this ship, as well.

“That is so cool,” said Cam, his fingers itching to explore the ship as much as Sam was probably itching to take it apart.

“You'd think so,” said Larabee with a rueful shake of his head, ignoring the smirking Tanner next to him as they both quickly finished their meals. “You've got free reign in certain areas, but as you've probably already figured out, don't go wandering too far or you'll get lost,” added Larabee, referencing their failed escape attempts as he rose to leave.

“I'll get a plate for His Highness,” said Vin as he followed Larabee away from the table. “Get him some food before he takes us through that asteroid belt he's been threatening.”

“Do that,” was all Larabee said before leaving the mess, Tanner following minutes later, not seeming to care if SG-1 had agreed to the restrictions imposed on them. Not that there was a lot of choice.

“Now,” said Cam, “Who's brilliant idea was it to leave the bulk of the conversation to me?”

Glaring at each of them in turn, though not so much at Sam who was still in geeky heaven at the thought of new tech to take apart, Cam wished not for the first time that he was able to shoot laser beams out his eyes. Maybe then they'd actually take him seriously.

“You did quite well, Colonel Mitchell,” said Teal'c, continuing to slowly eat his dinner.

“Yes, actually,” agreed Daniel. “Though next time you might want to--”

“Hey! How's about next time _you_ ask the questions?” he said pointedly. Jackson was the 'linguist' after all, right?

Daniel gave him a 'what you gonna do about it' smile and turned back to his meal, leaving him only Vala.

Vala who had been silent during the entire exchange, and that had him more freaked than anything he'd witnessed in the past year.

END


	6. The Calm Before The Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before they were enemies, Vala and Ezra were lovers. (Pre-series fic)

Ezra woke to the sensation of being watched.

“Something bothering you?” he asked, keeping his eyes closed.

“Nothing, darling,” came the lilting voice of his wife and partner. “Just jitters, I guess.”

Ezra's eyes snapped open, watching Vala with a careful gaze. Vala didn't get jitters or nervous or any other sign of apprehension before a job.

“Vala?” he asked quietly, watching the emotions chase each other across her face. She was kneeling next to him on the bed, clothed and ready for their forthcoming job.

Instead of answering, she leaned over and kissed him gently. His hands came up to pull her closer, and Ezra could feel their timetable slipping away from him.

“We need to get ready,” he said, pulling away.

“Well, _you_ need to get ready,” she teased him, hopping off the bed. “I've been ready for ages.”

“Then you should have woken me,” he said, donning the clothes appropriate for his coming role.

“I like watching you sleep,” she said softly, a response Ezra never tired of hearing. Vala shared the same issues with trust that he did, but for different reasons. As such, she'd never felt comfortable enough to sleep well and sleep deep with another person in the room, much the same way he was. But ever since they'd decided to join up, they'd both found a sounder and deeper sleep when the other was near.

They trusted each other. It was probably the most shocking emotion Vala had stirred up in Ezra, and had him wondering how he'd lived so long without her.

“Are you certain you're alright?” he asked her when he caught her staring at him again.

“Fine,” she told him, but he wasn't fooled.

“Vala,” he chided gently as he moved to stand next to her. “What's going on with you?”

“I'm fine,” she repeated. “Just unsettled. Impersonating Qetesh always does that.”

Ezra blinked as she lied to him, and lied badly. True, using the Qetesh identity was always a risk, the news of her death had yet to spread past a few planets. Something else was bothering her, and Ezra wished they had the time to sort it out.

“We still have time to call this off,” he said, knowing that it would cause untold problems in the future. But the risks involved were minimal, and the payoff great.

“No, we're doing this,” Vala was adamant about that. “We're doing this, and then we're going away for a while, right?”

“A nice long vacation,” he confirmed, leaning in to give her a gently kiss. They'd been working non-stop since they'd joined forces, and now was as good a time as any to enjoy a semi-retirement.

“Excellent,” she said, brightening up. “Now, let's go relieve Ba'al of some of his naquadah.”

Smiling, Ezra followed her out the door, thinking that there would never be another match for him like Vala.

And he didn't plan on losing her any time soon.

END


End file.
